reframe

Lickpenny Loafer

// October 16th, 2005 // 1 Comment » // Art, Music & Poetry

I just heard from a Canadian uber musician I used to chill with in Johannesburg. He was a genius engineering grad, doing developmental work in africa when he realised that it was all about The Music. Ron writes-

“To be a musician is not necessarily a choice. Like many other things, it begins and continues on with a slow, rising compulsion. We start with an ideal in mind,only to have it shattered and recreated a thousand more times. Fruition is here today, gone tomorrow. But, there is much solace in the appreciation of the process. For one who is unknown, it can bring tremendous gratification and much needed lift. And so I share my process- not just to energize a waning ego, but to offer another voice for any who wish to hear.”

His band is called Lickpenny Loafer, and you can check their awesome mp3s online, or if your Canada side go drop by a gig. As a general ninja his insights into music are worth a read.

Mad props to Ron for following the call.

“But lets stick with strictly sadness for a moment… it was Theodore Dreiser who said, “Art is the stored honey of the human soul, arriving on wings of misery and travail”…I think somewhere in the process of our evolution, the breadth of sensitivity and expression that defines our emotional basis basically exploded. “

Beats from the Wild Blue Yonder

// September 28th, 2005 // 1 Comment » // Art, Music & Poetry

A few months ago I was chilling in “Albert and Arthurs Pad of Change” trying to do a little personal reflection. I had listened through some tracks I usually use for that kind of thing, but it just wasn’t getting me there mentally so I started trying out some new things. At one point I had my favourite film, Waking Life by Richard Linklater, playing in the background so that the dialogue was rolling gently over the funky beats of Hungary’s Yonderboi which I had playing in the fore.It sounded awesome.

Waking Life is… (deep breath).. a collection of 15 philosophical monologues, strung together as a dream sequence, all filmed out of Austin, Texas, on digital film that has been animated over by various artists. It is a film that defeats other films in countless ways. First, its unrivalled content. Second, the artistry in which each individual screen is composed- you can literally stop this film at any given second and it looks beautiful. Third, the soundtrack is powerful and original. And finally, the connectivity of the concept is amazing- it discusses dreams in a dream story, with a technique that renders the film itself with a dream-like quality. Even if you don’t buy movies, buy the Waking Life DVD, you will watch it countless times and be better for it.

László Fogarasi Jr, aka Yonderboi, is a Hungarian DJ/Composer who kicks ass. The Oracle says his music is “somewhere between Future Jazz, Downtempo and Trip Hop”- but I have no idea about such classifications. He has two very sweet albums; “Shallow and Profound” and “Rough and Rare”. If you buy music, buy “Shallow and Profound” its a worthy addition.

Anyway, coming back to the “Pad of Change” and the moment of awesomeness. I realised then that I had a new project for my time in Egypt. I needed to mix up an album, bringing together Waking Life with Yonderboi- a salute to the incredible work of Linklater and Fogarasi, a tribute to unlikely synergies in the universe.

Now, I am a complete novice at mixing and Im using some cheap software. But such is the mastery of these artists, that it actually seems to work. Here is a sample of the Linklater/Fogarisi Mix: “Yonderboi Finds Philosophy”, Track 6: No Answer From Boatcar Guy.

(Vocal samples: Waking Life, Beats: Yonderboi)

Space is the Place

// March 14th, 2005 // No Comments » // Art, Music & Poetry

Imagine a circus tent. Now imagine it is made of metal but totally
hollow. Imagine it is incredibly massively huge. Imagine you are in this
tent, surrounded by thousands of people, some of the finest beats Europe
has to offer and a vibe chilled to the point of freezing. It is somewhere
between 12 and 5 AM, you are in Amsterdam, and you are me.

I journeyed to “Space is the Place :Super Natural Funky Musique”.
Self described as a gig so funky “the forms of relaxation will ask a lot of
your mind to cope with”. It was a huge stage featuring Etienne de Crecy,
Roy Ayers and others committed to pumping out house, acid jazz and
heating up to forms to funky dance. There was Brazilian juice bars, high
tea and even a area filled only with bean bags.

It was a big culture shock for me as it was the first time I heard Dutch
DJs who actually finished playing the tracks they we spinning, the music
genre stayed for more than two songs and people wore colors other than
bright green, orange and red. Oh the delights of Amsterdam. Or was it
finally leaving the surreal bubble of “AI-Netherlands”; which is located
in Rotterdam in name alone.

Nonetheless, it was a huge night, and when I wasn’t staring up at the
massive ceiling of this venue that used to be a giant container for
natural gas , I was chilling with Monika and my bro Eddie who came
through from London on a sabbatical away from the soul eating city of
London. It was huge reminder that I need to get out, need to experience
the incredible scene that this place has to offer, get underground and find
out where art is being expressed and tap into the the pulse that beats in
the youth culture across this continent.

Copy, write II

// March 10th, 2005 // 3 Comments » // Uncategorized

It was coming along nicely with some engaging humanism and then bang… it turned into a hectic rant on plagiarism and blogging. Way too intense for this fragile journey of discovery. So let me talk about other people’s stuff for a while.

On the topic of copyright if you haven’t already, make sure you check out “Question” by the Kleptones. It’s a mashup including Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the Big Lebowski and Fight Club in one incredible track that has been described as “a plunderphonic call to arms against bad copyright law“. As Queens piano gently marks the exit to the track, we hear a final voice over.

“What do you get with freedom? Excesses? Exploitation? Of course. And what does one say to that? A small price to pay. If you dont like it, dont listen to it, dont read it, dont watch it. Without free commmunication, you don’t have a free society. Democracy is based on it.”

You know the system is in decline when giant media conglomerates are appealing to the ethics and individual responsibility of their consumers. I wonder if they will include it in their key competencies? Sony: Electronics, Music, Morality. Nonetheless for millions of people around the world, for right or wrong, music is functionally free.

For me the future of music will be determined by the following question. What system will deliver more music to the consumer and allow more people to make a decent living doing what they love, playing music? I believe this future will not leave a lot of room for parts of the industry which are not concerned with these two elements. And rightly so.

Music is the product and producer of passion. In a decline of the mainstream commerical industry I think we will see a rise of an industry driven by individual interest. The majority of artists would earn through live performances, and the superstars will earn supersalaries through commercial endorsement. Individuals will record it, they will share it and they will draw other people to it. And best of all they will do this in a way that engages more people to produce more music for everyone. Fluffy, different, maybe impossible- but it would be incredibly cool.